Welcome again, Campers. Last month, we talked about the inciting incident in a romance novel. And if you’ve been following along, you know that our framework for this series of articles is Jami Gold’s Beat Sheet for Romance (found here). We’re sticking to the three act structure for these articles but, as I’ve said before,…
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Jack Up The Moderation
Such a calm word—moderator. Merriam Webster: “Someone who leads a discussion in a group and tells each person when to speak: someone who moderates a meeting or discussion.” I’ve been going to book conferences for years and for some reason this year I sat in on a few panels led by some truly awful moderators….
Writer, Beware
One of the things agents and editors will often say is “Don’t write to the market.” The idea is that by the time you finish the book, the market will have moved on and something else will be popular. Unfortunately, the writers who usually get the most interest in pitch appointments are those who are…
Thrillers, Part 3 of 4: Villains
The villain in a thriller is generally not your run-of-the-mill murderer. He is someone with a goal in mind, and he is driving toward that goal, regardless of the damage he causes along the way. While he may enjoy that destruction, whether human (serial killer, assassin, strong-man dictator) or property (arsonist, bomber, unscrupulous land baron)…
Rocky Mountain Writer #104
Jayme H. Mansfield & Rush Jayme H. Mansfield found fiction in her own family history. Rush, her second novel, is based on the life of Jayme’s great-great grandmother and the details of her involvement in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1893. Using original letters from the era and her own research in Oklahoma, Jayme found out…